National Hellenic Museum
Encyclopedia
The National Hellenic Museum (formerly known as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center) is located in Chicago
’s Greektown
on the corner of Halsted
and Adams Streets. The National Hellenic Museum was the first institution in the United States
dedicated to displaying and celebrating the cultural contributions of Greeks and Greek American
s. The museum is currently undergoing a massive expansion and relocation initiative, complete with a move to new facilities.
and contemporary Greece
as well as a focus on the Greek-American immigrant experience. In 1992, the HMCC opened the doors of its first museum facility, located on Michigan Avenue
in downtown Chicago. In July 2004, the Museum relocated to its current location at 801 West Adams Street, in the heart of Chicago's Greektown.
In 2009 the museum rebranded itself the National Hellenic Museum, with a new slogan
: "the newest thing in ancient history" a new logo
incorporating the Greek key design, and created a new mission statement
: "connecting generations through Greek history, culture, and art."
’s Greektown Redevelopment plan. The new museum is currently being built at the corner of Halsted and Van Buren streets in the heart of Chicago's iconic Greektown neighborhood and will be a 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) facility featuring permanent and rotating exhibition halls, a library
and archival research
center, classroom
s for children of all ages, an events hall, an art preparation space, and an oral history
center featuring the HOMER project. The new National Hellenic Museum is being designed by architect Demetrios Stavrianos, a Principal with RTKL Associates, Chicago and plans to open its doors to the public in fall 2011.
The first floor’s 10000 square feet (929 m²) will include the Calamos Great Hall, a 5300 square feet (492.4 m²) space for temporary arts and artifact exhibitions, the John T. & Lily Mathews lobby, and the Dr. Mary Dochios Kamberos special events hall. The first floor also will hold the museum store and a special events hall for lectures, shows, and other small events.
The second floor will contain the Halikias Family Exhibition Hall, the museum's permanent exhibitions, and an education center with classroom space and an art studio which will serve Chicago-area school children of all ages.
The third floor will house the Gus and Mary Stathis Library and archives, the Frank S. Kamberos Oral History Center, an oral history recording studio
, and staff offices. A rooftop terrace will feature three gardens and provide dramatic views of the Chicago skyline during the summer months.
an immigrants. Today, Greek Americans have a presence throughout the entire United States.
The HOMER Oral History Project currently has just over 200 separate oral histories, spanning hundreds of hours of film
and audio tape, from Greeks and Greek-Americans from all over the United States.
from 1200 BCE through today. The collection features artifacts of the Greek-American immigrant experience including, handmade textiles, traditional costumes, and musical instrument
s, as well as original photographs.
The National Hellenic Museum displays various artifacts from its collection on a rotating basis throughout the year through exhibitions designed to showcase their uniqueness.
, and religion
, including rare volumes such as 17th and 18th century manuscripts. The Archival Collection includes Greek-American newspapers, magazines, archival records, among other printed materials.
Many of the National Hellenic Museum's archival collections include hand-written letter collections, early-modern manuscripts, and one of the largest archives of Greek-language newspapers in the United States.
s each year, spanning the breadth of Greek history, culture, and art
.
Past exhibitions have included:
, dinner receptions
, brunch
es, meet-and-greet events, and holiday-themed events, the National Hellenic Museum has a few marquee events which it hosts each year including:
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
’s Greektown
Greektown, Chicago
Greektown is a dining and nightlife district on the Near West Side of the American city of Chicago, Illinois. It is one of many neighborhoods that make up the Near West Side community area, and is popular with tourists and Chicago residents alike....
on the corner of Halsted
Halsted Street
Halsted Street is a major north-south street in the American city of Chicago, Illinois.-Location:In Chicago's grid system, Halsted street marks 800 West, one mile west of State Street, from Grace Street in Lakeview south to the city limits at the Little Calumet River in West Pullman...
and Adams Streets. The National Hellenic Museum was the first institution in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dedicated to displaying and celebrating the cultural contributions of Greeks and Greek American
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
s. The museum is currently undergoing a massive expansion and relocation initiative, complete with a move to new facilities.
History
The National Hellenic Museum was founded in 1983 as the Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center with the goal to promote understanding of and appreciation for the rich cultural traditions of ancientAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and contemporary Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
as well as a focus on the Greek-American immigrant experience. In 1992, the HMCC opened the doors of its first museum facility, located on Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
in downtown Chicago. In July 2004, the Museum relocated to its current location at 801 West Adams Street, in the heart of Chicago's Greektown.
In 2009 the museum rebranded itself the National Hellenic Museum, with a new slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
: "the newest thing in ancient history" a new logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
incorporating the Greek key design, and created a new mission statement
Mission statement
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
: "connecting generations through Greek history, culture, and art."
New Facility
In the fall of 2005, the Museum began demolition on the site of the new National Hellenic Museum which will be built as the cornerstone to Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. DaleyRichard M. Daley
Richard Michael Daley is a United States politician, member of the national and local Democratic Party, and former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. He was elected mayor in 1989 and reelected in 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, and 2007. He was the longest serving Chicago mayor, surpassing the tenure of his...
’s Greektown Redevelopment plan. The new museum is currently being built at the corner of Halsted and Van Buren streets in the heart of Chicago's iconic Greektown neighborhood and will be a 40000 square feet (3,716.1 m²) facility featuring permanent and rotating exhibition halls, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
and archival research
Archival research
-Basic Definition:An archive is a way of sorting and organizing older documents, whether it be digitally or manually . Archiving is one part of the curating process which is typically carried out by a curator...
center, classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s for children of all ages, an events hall, an art preparation space, and an oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
center featuring the HOMER project. The new National Hellenic Museum is being designed by architect Demetrios Stavrianos, a Principal with RTKL Associates, Chicago and plans to open its doors to the public in fall 2011.
The first floor’s 10000 square feet (929 m²) will include the Calamos Great Hall, a 5300 square feet (492.4 m²) space for temporary arts and artifact exhibitions, the John T. & Lily Mathews lobby, and the Dr. Mary Dochios Kamberos special events hall. The first floor also will hold the museum store and a special events hall for lectures, shows, and other small events.
The second floor will contain the Halikias Family Exhibition Hall, the museum's permanent exhibitions, and an education center with classroom space and an art studio which will serve Chicago-area school children of all ages.
The third floor will house the Gus and Mary Stathis Library and archives, the Frank S. Kamberos Oral History Center, an oral history recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, and staff offices. A rooftop terrace will feature three gardens and provide dramatic views of the Chicago skyline during the summer months.
The HOMER Oral History Project
The National Hellenic Museum’s oral history project captures the Greek immigrant experience in America through the process of interviewing and recording the life stories of individuals of Greek descent. Approximately 450,000 Greeks came to America between 1890 and 1920 as part of the flood of Eastern EuropeEastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an immigrants. Today, Greek Americans have a presence throughout the entire United States.
The HOMER Oral History Project currently has just over 200 separate oral histories, spanning hundreds of hours of film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and audio tape, from Greeks and Greek-Americans from all over the United States.
Collections
The National Hellenic Museum’s collection spans thousands of years and multiple periods of art historyArt history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
from 1200 BCE through today. The collection features artifacts of the Greek-American immigrant experience including, handmade textiles, traditional costumes, and musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s, as well as original photographs.
The National Hellenic Museum displays various artifacts from its collection on a rotating basis throughout the year through exhibitions designed to showcase their uniqueness.
Library and Archives
The National Hellenic Museum’s Library and Archives includes approximately 10,000 books, serial publications, and other documents. The library’s book collection is composed of books on Greek history, culture, languageGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and religion
Religion in Greece
Among religions in Greece, the largest denomination is the Greek Orthodox Church, which represents the majority of the population and which is constitutionally recognised as the "prevailing religion" of Greece...
, including rare volumes such as 17th and 18th century manuscripts. The Archival Collection includes Greek-American newspapers, magazines, archival records, among other printed materials.
Many of the National Hellenic Museum's archival collections include hand-written letter collections, early-modern manuscripts, and one of the largest archives of Greek-language newspapers in the United States.
Exhibitions
The National Hellenic Museum hosts a variety of exhibitionExhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
s each year, spanning the breadth of Greek history, culture, and art
Greek art
Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the ancient period...
.
Past exhibitions have included:
- MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
: 4000 Years of Greek History and Culture - Vignettes of Greek Folk Art
- Windows to Heaven: The Life and Works of Shirley Kontos
- Marika’s Koukles: A Collection of Hand-Crafted Regional Greek Dolls
- Nourishing Culture: Greek Immigrants and Food in Chicago, 1880–1920
- Road to Rembetika : the roots and evolution of Rembetika music in Greece
- Olympic GamesOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
: Then and Now - Inheritance: New Works by Thomas XenakisThomas XenakisThomas Xenakis was a Greek gymnast. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens.He was born in Greece and died in Orange, California, United States....
- A Day in the Life of an Ancient GreekAncient GreeceAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
: A Hands-on Educational Experience - CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
: Portrait of a Changing Culture, Photography by Nancy Backas - Growing Up Greek: A Long Way from AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
- DachauDachauDachau is a town in Upper Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany. It is a major district town—a Große Kreisstadt—of the administrative region of Upper Bavaria, about 20 km north-west of Munich. It is now a popular residential area for people working in Munich with roughly 40,000 inhabitants...
: April 29, 1945 An Orthodox Christian Memorial - KatoufsKatoufsKatoufs, an old Greek expression that means "making a face", is the title of an illustrated children's book and notebook art collection by Princess Marie of Greece . Katoufs first appeared in a book titled 'Katoufs' published by Williams & Norgate, London in 1925.The was first licensed to Spiegel...
: From Royal Times to Nursery Rhymes - The Eruption of Thera: Opening the Door to Myth
- Defenders of Democracy: The U.S. Response to Greece’s Role in WWII, A Modern ThermopylaeThermopylaeThermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
- Greeks in the DiasporaGreek diasporaThe Greek diaspora, also known as Hellenic Diaspora or Diaspora of Hellenism, is a term used to refer to the communities of Greek people living outside the traditional Greek homelands, but more commonly in southeast Europe and Asia Minor...
: 15th-21st c. - CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
Revealed: The Golden Green Leaf in the Wine Dark Sea - Sacred Art
- Anamniseis: Highlights of the Permanent Collection
- Zoe Thanatos: the Expressionist Art of Diane Thodos
- The 1821 Greek War of IndependenceGreek War of IndependenceThe Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
- Percy Jackson & the OlympiansPercy Jackson & the OlympiansPercy Jackson & the Olympians is a pentalogy of adventure and fantasy fiction books authored by Rick Riordan. The series consists of five books, as well as spin-off titles such as The Demigod Files and Demigods and Monsters. Set in the United States, the books are predominantly based on Greek...
: A Look Inside the Lightning ThiefThe Lightning ThiefThe Lightning Thief is a 2005 fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel written by Rick Riordan. It is the first novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, which charts the adventures of modern-day twelve-year-old Percy Jackson as he discovers he is a...
Events
Along with smaller events which take place on a weekly or monthly schedule, such as cocktail receptionsCocktail party
A cocktail party is a party where cocktails are served. Women may choose to wear what has become known as a cocktail dress.Although many believe the inventor of the cocktail party to be Alec Waugh of London, who in 1924 found a need for this pleasant interlude before a dinner party, an article in...
, dinner receptions
Dinner party
Dinner Party or The Dinner Party may refer to:* A type of party* The Dinner Party,an installation artwork by Judy Chicago* The Dinner Party , by Neil Simon* Dinner Party , by Pier Vittorio Tondelli...
, brunch
Brunch
Brunch is a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.-Origin of the word:The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night...
es, meet-and-greet events, and holiday-themed events, the National Hellenic Museum has a few marquee events which it hosts each year including:
- Annual Fall Gala - The National Hellenic Museum's signature yearly event, held at various locations. In 2010 the Fall Gala was held in the Chicago Hilton ballroom in downtown Chicago. The event includes dinner, music, dancing, live and silent auctions, speeches by the museum president and executive director, and cocktails.
- Passport to the World - 3-day annual event showcasing Greek culture with performances, traditional crafts and workshops. Conducted in cooperation with the Chicago Children's MuseumChicago Children's MuseumThe Chicago Children's Museum is located at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1982 by The Junior League of Chicago who were responding to programming cutbacks in the Chicago Public Schools...
at Navy PierNavy PierNavy Pier is a long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. It is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million, equivalent to $ today. It was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and...
, Chicago. - Kouzina - Annual event where chefs from the Chicago area prepare Mediterranean influenced dish in the appetizer, saladSaladSalad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
, entréeEntréeAn entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...
, dessertDessertIn cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
or beverage categories. Even also includes music and cocktailCocktailA cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s.